Jackson Madnick's blog

We adopted a dog this week! Its a cute little thing called a Chinese Crested Powder Puff Terrier. The name's a mouthful, but the dog is bite-size. The photo shows Betsy and me with Zoe on our dock on Dudley Pond in Wayland (MA). I started Pearl's Premium to get the chemicals out of the lake, but when I learned what lawn chemicals did to dogs, it took on a whole other meaning.

The short story is dogs walk on treated lawns, chemicals get on their paws, chemicals sting, dogs lick paws and ingest chemicals, dogs get sick in alarming rates! And the word is getting out.

Check out what vet Margo Roman and other have told us about lawn chemicals and animal health risk.

I'm on the road traveling with my ultra lightweight Pearl's Premium trailer and staying in lots of beautiful parks. Last night, it was a symphony of owl’s and birds calling back
and forth in the pitch black night at the Pohick Bay Regional Park in Lorton, VA. Its just south of Washington, DC and a great place to stay. Call and book your stay: 703-339-6104.

I'm back on the road attending the 2010 Buckminster Fuller Challenge in DC. The event showcased amazing sustainability ideas and was attended by an eclectic and inspiring group of free thinkers, from a WWII fighter pilot who traded in his citizenship to become a citizen of the world to astro-physisists who are mapping the galaxy.

Did anyone catch the Presidential Report on Cancer that came out this week? Surprise, surprise the chemicals in our environment are putting us at significant risk of cancer. There are over 80,000 known chemicals in our homes - a number that has exploded over the past 30 years.

I did and, not surprising for those of you who know me, I had something to say!

We woke up after one of the best sleeps ever had in a pop-up camper (more on our sustainable camper later) to the sound of a Doberman Pinscher relieving himself on our wheel. We didn’t mind because we’re pet-friendly! After a stretch and some coffee we headed out on the first leg
of our trip to Kentucky. The beautiful hills and colors of the earth were
a sight to behold and reminded us of the fabric of America.

To
paraphrase the opening of
Charles Dickens' Tale of Two Cities, "it was the best
of times and the
worst of times." He could as easily have been describing the year 2010.
We
find ourselves in a time of great economic and environmental challenge.
Of all the challenges water is the sleeping giant that must be dealt
with. And one of the
greatest challenges to clean, clear drinking water is the ever-present
lawn that surrounds our homes and businesses.